Erhard Fernholz was the eldest son of Gustav Fernholz and Elisabeth Schwagmeyer, both school teachers in Hiddenhausen where Gustav was also the principal of the local school. Erhard had two younger siblings, Maria Elisabeth and Gustav Johannes Hans, both of whom were also chemists. Erhard Fernholz graduated from the Realgimnasium in 1928 and continued his studies at the University of Göttingen where in 1932, at age 23, he received his PhD degree with highest honors in Chemistry from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The following year he continued research with his thesis advisor Adolf Windaus and was named university assistant in the Chemistry faculty at Göttingen in charge of the Biochemical Department of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory.
Due to his opposition to Nazism, Fernholz left Germany for the United States in 1935 by virtue of a fellowship he had received from Princeton University to work in the Chemistry Department with Prof. E. S. Wallis. During his brief career, Fernholz contributed more than forty papers to the chemical literature and established himself at an early age as an outstanding investigator. His research was mainly concentrated on sterols and bile acids, and his work on stigma-sterol contributed to the first partial synthesis of progesterone.[1]
After a year at Princeton University, Fernholz joined the research group at Merck & Co., and in 1937 he reported the isolation of durohydroquinone from the thermal decomposition products of α-tocopherol, the most active principle of Vitamin E. This research was followed by the complete structure of α-tocopherol that Fernholz presented in 1938, based almost entirely on the basis of his own experiments. That same year Fernholz became head of the division of Organic Chemistry of the newly founded Squibb Institute for Medical Research. In addition to his research contributions in the sterol area, he explored the anti-hemorrhagic properties of natural substances including pioneering work on Vitamin K.[2]
His career came to an abrupt end on 14 December 1940 when Fernholz disappeared at age 31 while walking his spaniels in Princeton, New Jersey. Soon after this incident, both the FBI and police from eight states joined in the investigation as it was rumored that Nazi agents may have been involved in his disappearance.[3][4] However, by March 1941, after an FBI investigation, it was concluded that Fernholz had died as a result of an accidental drowning in nearby Carnegie Lake and that no foul play was involved.[5]
Familyedit
In September 1938, Fernholz married Mary Briganti, a research assistant in the Economics Department at Princeton University. In March 1941, three months after his death, his only son Erhard Robert was born. E. Robert Fernholz is former Chief Investment Officer of INTECH, an institutional equity management firm that he founded in 1987. He has published articles in mathematics, statistics, and mathematical finance, including the research monograph Stochastic Portfolio Theory in 2002.[6]
Notesedit
^Harrop, G. A.; Stavely, H. E. (8 August 1941). "Erhard Fernholz". Science. 94 (2432): 130–131. Bibcode:1941Sci....94..130H. doi:10.1126/science.94.2432.130. PMID 17744586.
^Harrop, G. A.; Stavely, H. E. (8 August 1941). "Erhard Fernholz". Science. 94 (2432): 130–131. Bibcode:1941Sci....94..130H. doi:10.1126/science.94.2432.130. PMID 17744586.
^"F.B.I. Joins Hunt for Young German Chemist". San Bernardino Daily Sun. 18 December 1940. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
^. Archived from the original on 16 April 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^. news.google.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016.
erhard, fernholz, this, article, uses, bare, urls, which, uninformative, vulnerable, link, please, consider, converting, them, full, citations, ensure, article, remains, verifiable, maintains, consistent, citation, style, several, templates, tools, available, . This article uses bare URLs which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting such as reFill documentation and Citation bot documentation September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Friedrich August Erhard Fernholz 9 June 1909 14 December 1940 was a German chemist and investigator of sterols and bile acids Erhard FernholzBornFriedrich August Erhard Fernholz 1909 06 09 9 June 1909Hiddenhausen German EmpireDied14 December 1940 1940 12 14 aged 31 Princeton New Jersey U S NationalityGermanAlma materUniversity of GottingenSpouseMary Briganti 1938 1940 ChildrenE RobertScientific careerFieldsOrganic chemistry biochemistryDoctoral advisorAdolf WindausBiography editErhard Fernholz was the eldest son of Gustav Fernholz and Elisabeth Schwagmeyer both school teachers in Hiddenhausen where Gustav was also the principal of the local school Erhard had two younger siblings Maria Elisabeth and Gustav Johannes Hans both of whom were also chemists Erhard Fernholz graduated from the Realgimnasium in 1928 and continued his studies at the University of Gottingen where in 1932 at age 23 he received his PhD degree with highest honors in Chemistry from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences The following year he continued research with his thesis advisor Adolf Windaus and was named university assistant in the Chemistry faculty at Gottingen in charge of the Biochemical Department of the Organic Chemistry Laboratory Due to his opposition to Nazism Fernholz left Germany for the United States in 1935 by virtue of a fellowship he had received from Princeton University to work in the Chemistry Department with Prof E S Wallis During his brief career Fernholz contributed more than forty papers to the chemical literature and established himself at an early age as an outstanding investigator His research was mainly concentrated on sterols and bile acids and his work on stigma sterol contributed to the first partial synthesis of progesterone 1 After a year at Princeton University Fernholz joined the research group at Merck amp Co and in 1937 he reported the isolation of durohydroquinone from the thermal decomposition products of a tocopherol the most active principle of Vitamin E This research was followed by the complete structure of a tocopherol that Fernholz presented in 1938 based almost entirely on the basis of his own experiments That same year Fernholz became head of the division of Organic Chemistry of the newly founded Squibb Institute for Medical Research In addition to his research contributions in the sterol area he explored the anti hemorrhagic properties of natural substances including pioneering work on Vitamin K 2 His career came to an abrupt end on 14 December 1940 when Fernholz disappeared at age 31 while walking his spaniels in Princeton New Jersey Soon after this incident both the FBI and police from eight states joined in the investigation as it was rumored that Nazi agents may have been involved in his disappearance 3 4 However by March 1941 after an FBI investigation it was concluded that Fernholz had died as a result of an accidental drowning in nearby Carnegie Lake and that no foul play was involved 5 Family editIn September 1938 Fernholz married Mary Briganti a research assistant in the Economics Department at Princeton University In March 1941 three months after his death his only son Erhard Robert was born E Robert Fernholz is former Chief Investment Officer of INTECH an institutional equity management firm that he founded in 1987 He has published articles in mathematics statistics and mathematical finance including the research monograph Stochastic Portfolio Theory in 2002 6 Notes edit Harrop G A Stavely H E 8 August 1941 Erhard Fernholz Science 94 2432 130 131 Bibcode 1941Sci 94 130H doi 10 1126 science 94 2432 130 PMID 17744586 Harrop G A Stavely H E 8 August 1941 Erhard Fernholz Science 94 2432 130 131 Bibcode 1941Sci 94 130H doi 10 1126 science 94 2432 130 PMID 17744586 F B I Joins Hunt for Young German Chemist San Bernardino Daily Sun 18 December 1940 Retrieved 22 December 2013 Archived copy Archived from the original on 16 April 2016 Retrieved 16 June 2015 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link The Milwaukee Sentinel Google News Archive Search news google com Archived from the original on 20 April 2016 http www voxeu org person robert fernholz Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Erhard Fernholz amp oldid 1179099228, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
